Event Design Experthttp://eventdesign.expert
Trace KinghamFri, 16 Mar 2018 19:41:52 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.5“We’ve Got This!”http://eventdesign.expert/weve-got-this/
http://eventdesign.expert/weve-got-this/#respondFri, 16 Mar 2018 19:37:02 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=17256As an event management professional, my team and I have been working with the Sykes Enterprise, Inc. organization for a number of years now. In that time, we’ve had the privilege of working on trade shows, strategic client events, quarterly briefings and one of our favorites, the Our Heroes Luncheon. This year, is no exception and it highlights the need […]

As an event management professional, my team and I have been working with the Sykes Enterprise, Inc. organization for a number of years now. In that time, we’ve had the privilege of working on trade shows, strategic client events, quarterly briefings and one of our favorites, the Our Heroes Luncheon. This year, is no exception and it highlights the need for having a true event management expert on your side. Why?

If you’re not familiar, the luncheon honors Hillsborough County First Responders and awards eight high-school seniors from first-responder families with a 4-year scholarship. With over 16 honorees and the eight scholarships, the event has over 1,600 guests in attendance at the Greater Tampa Convention Center. This is the events 24th year.

Just before the planning process was to begin, unexpectedly our internal partner from the organization for this event, whom has planned this event for over 18+ years, wasn’t going to be available as planned. A representative from the organization reached out to discuss the challenges they were facing concerned about the integrity of the event and not familiar with specifics on what needed to get done, and being a professional event strategist, I gleefully exclaimed…”we’ve got this!”

We put the planning process into motion, lots to get done and decisions needing to be made. Keeping the organization abreast of the progress, my team and I got to work. Updating the website, producing invitations, sponsorship request forms, coordinating committee meetings, designing new sets, scripts, negotiating contracts and obtaining signatures as necessary. We took this challenge with our hearts all-in determined to ensure the event continues to be the leading awards program in Tampa Bay!

I share this not to boast, but to demonstrate event management at it’s best. No matter what circumstances your organization is facing, having an event management professional on your side can turn an unexpected circumstance into a “we’ve got this!” experience. No matter what may happen, hiring a professional that understands what needs to occur and in the order for which it needs to happen, will keep your project on target and exceed expectations your organization is looking. In these circumstances, the value an expert can bring to the table can’t be measured.

If you would like more information about the Our Heroes Luncheon event or would like to attend, visit www.tampabayheroes.org for tickets.

]]>http://eventdesign.expert/tuesday-tip/feed/02018 Event Resolutionshttp://eventdesign.expert/2018-event-resolutions/
http://eventdesign.expert/2018-event-resolutions/#respondTue, 02 Jan 2018 16:35:04 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=17200Just like our personal resolutions we make the beginning of each New Year, whether to improve our fitness level or improve our organization skills, whatever your resolutions may be, we need to take some time to make resolutions for our upcoming events in 2018. One of the best ways to improve outcomes is to conduct a 3-step assessment of our […]

Just like our personal resolutions we make the beginning of each New Year, whether to improve our fitness level or improve our organization skills, whatever your resolutions may be, we need to take some time to make resolutions for our upcoming events in 2018.

One of the best ways to improve outcomes is to conduct a 3-step assessment of our event experience and make resolutions to improve metrics from your findings. How?

Identify the event purpose. Be realistic and be sure to include stakeholders in your process. I always encourage planners to involve leadership, board members, event attendees and more in this process. You’ll be surprised how many different opinions you may receive. But it’s important to create an event purpose statement that will ultimately positively impact the goals of the organization. Make it clear and concise all stakeholders must be on the same page.

SAMPLE EVENT PURPOSE: Our annual gala invites community leaders and their circle of influence to honor 2- 3 key individuals in our community making a lasting impact on the arts while bringing attention to our organization’s role within the arts community. The gala will elevate the organization with influential art enthusiasts continuing to grow our membership and network.

Many events will have multiple event purposes, however it’s important to focus on one of the three types of event purposes below. This laser focus improves results and will make the experience more potent for your guests.

Fund Raiser

Friend Raiser

Brand Builder

In the sample above, the first stated goal is to build brand awareness and the secondary purpose is a friend raiser. As we design the experience, we’ll focus on strategies that improve brand awareness on showcase our role in the arts community. Of course, you’ll raise funds, but this won’t be your primary focus in this sample.

Who is your event Avatar? It’s time to assess if you have the right audience attending your event! The best way is to jot down as much information as you can about the “ideal event attendee.” How does your avatar consume information, what’s their day to day look like, what’s important to them? The more information you can gather the better. Be sure to include stakeholders for their opinions and you can conduct simple surveys.

This information will then help you shape your event marketing strategy. Knowing whom you need in the audience to move the organization forward is vital to event success. If you’re looking to grow event attendance, then it’s vital to know whom you should have in the audience to help you reach this goal.

Event Experience Alignment. Does the experience align with your event purpose and your event avatar? Now that you’ve identified a clear and concise purpose and you have a better understanding of your event avatar’s likes and dislikes, it’s time to asses if the experience aligns with these findings.

This is the time to take a step back and be realistic with yourself. It’s easy to fall into the trap of habit. Aligning an event experience may mean it will take much more skill and time to create something taking the event to the next level. And as planners, it’s very easy to experience event burn-out and not have access to resources to help you pull off a new event vision.

But this doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Jot down the successes you’re having and the flaws that need to be scrapped with the experience. Take a look at each of the components and make adjustments to align with the event purpose and your guests.

Break the experience into the 4 Pillars of an Event to help you make this process much more effective and palatable to manage. These pillars are a great way to organize your findings and start applying event experience strategies to help you reach your event resolutions.

Attract – Essentially your event marketing plan.

Arrive – What is the first impression you want to create for your guests.

Standout – How are you going to make your experience unique from any other in your community.

Crave – Create an experience wanting your guests craving for more.

Keep in mind, this process doesn’t need to take too much time, the more time you spend reevaluating the experience, the clearer picture you’ll have on what adjustments you need to make to invigorate your events in 2018.

Be sure to check out my weekly blog post, every Tuesday at 12 noon and SUBSCRIBE to our weekly newsletter and/or vlog posts so you won’t miss out on tips and strategies to help you improve your event outcomes.

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]]>http://eventdesign.expert/2018-event-resolutions/feed/07 Most Common Costly Mistakes When Planning Your Eventhttp://eventdesign.expert/7-most-common-costly-mistakes-when-planning-your-event/
Wed, 28 Dec 2016 12:31:38 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=1356(c) Can Stock Photo / iqoncept By: Trace Kingham When it comes to planning corporate and non-profit events, it takes valuable time and resources for an organization to produce a successful experience. It can cost even more, i.e. reputation and revenue, if you don’t avoid these top seven most costly mistakes. Not having a clear and concise purpose for your […]

When it comes to planning corporate and non-profit events, it takes valuable time and resources for an organization to produce a successful experience. It can cost even more, i.e. reputation and revenue, if you don’t avoid these top seven most costly mistakes.

Not having a clear and concise purpose for your event.

We’ve all heard the old adage, “You must have a plan in order to know where you are going!” In order for your event to be successful, you must understand what you want to accomplish. This is achieved by sitting down with all the stakeholders and defining the end result the organization needs to realize (your purpose) and define strategies on how you are going to achieve those results.

Not following standard, repeatable event management processes.

Lack of an agreed upon planning process increases the risk that tasks related to the event will inevitably fall through the cracks or last-minute implementation, which results in last-minute issues, will fall short on meeting your budget and ultimately miss major objectives.

Ineffective management of scope creep.

It’s vital to follow a formal ‘change tracking process’ to keep changes documented, communicated and under control. If requesting a change (e.g. additional seating capacity or change in the food service) these types of requests require justification. The event manager needs to determine how that request will impact the overall experience, budget, timeline; and communicate it to all other stakeholders involved on the impact this change would have on the event experience and mutually agreed upon outcomes.

Improperly allocating resources.

It takes many different resources to pull off a successful event- whether it be Venue, AV, Lighting, Sound, Staging, Caterers, Sponsors, Donors, Talent and other outsourcers. A thorough valuation of all resources at the onset of the planning process is critical in order to determine how to allocate resources across the vast amount of components and intricacies it will take to pull off your event.

Not planning for Murphy’s Law.

As they say; “If it can go wrong, IT WILL.” A way to reduce risk is to do a thorough risk assessment during the entire planning process. An effective planner is continuously assessing risk. By having an expert on hand that has experienced the many possible things that could go wrong, you can plan for the worst case scenarios. This level of preparedness will examine and create a “plan b” (and in some cases “plan c”) which will make it much easier to react to a “curve ball” in the moment.

Lack of budget controls.

Stakeholders must have confidence that budgets are being met with a clear process in place that maintains a keen eye on your event budget. Negotiations is just one way to ensure that you can maximize the event experience and stay within your event’s budget allocation. Knowing what you can and can’t ask from trusted vendors/venues is an important part of planning an event. These simple requests can help keep you budget inline and improve results. Have everything you spend in writing and assess frequently to determine effective budget control.

7. Not Working with an Experienced Event Planner

Too often one underestimates the value of having an experienced event manager on board. They are a professional that brings the right combination of industry knowledge, connections, and expertise to ensure your event is a success and the strategic goals are always at the forefront and therefore met. Because this is what they do, experienced planners have the expertise to facilitate planning meetings, manage risk, control spending and have the skill to successfully handle a variety of different vendors and key stakeholders.

Avoid these pitfalls when planning your next event and it will inevitably help your organization reach and exceed expectations.

Trace Kingham, President & Chief Experience Officer for Kingham Signature Events and Author of STANDOUT: Place Your Business in the Spotlight with Results Driven Events, has planned events for 20 years for large corporate and non-profit organizations. Trace’s has received 2 National and 1 International Award for his work. Trace’s designs have been featured in International BRIDES magazine and was named one of Tampa’s Outstanding Voices in 2016.

]]>3 Proven Ways to Revamp Your Repeat Eventhttp://eventdesign.expert/3-ways-to-revamp-your-repeat-event/
Thu, 12 May 2016 11:04:38 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=1279By Cylie Svartoien When you have a local repeat event with a consistent audience, it’s easy to get comfortable and rely on tactics that have worked before. However, if you want to keep your audience’s attention and attendance, it’s critical to revamp, refresh and rejuvenate your show. Last week at the Heroes Luncheon in Tampa, we spruced up the atmosphere in […]

When you have a local repeat event with a consistent audience, it’s easy to get comfortable and rely on tactics that have worked before. However, if you want to keep your audience’s attention and attendance, it’s critical to revamp, refresh and rejuvenate your show.

Last week at the Heroes Luncheon in Tampa, we spruced up the atmosphere in a variety of ways. Already, we’ve received phenomenal feedback, and here are some of the key tactics we used. Apply them to your next repeat event, and watch your audience crave more!

Create Personal Moments on the Stage

It’s most common to have a “sage on the stage,” but variety on stage can be much more effective when you include interaction. For example, John Sykes and his son Chuck Sykes were on the stage yesterday and John rubbed his son’s head while joking about balding, to which the son quickly retorted.

Another way we created interaction and personal moments on the stage was with an interview set up, where scholarship recipients were asked a short series of questions about their future plans. They then had the opportunity to thank or talk with the scholarship creators, John and Chuck Sykes. The gratitude, energy and emotion was palpable in a room of 1500 people. You can create this in your event too – simply create moments of personal connection.

Revamp the Script

Again, with a repeat event, it’s tempting to have a repeat script. Too often we see monthly or yearly events have a ‘Fill in the Blank Script,’ where they merely update names, dates and announcements. Friends, updated dates and times can be sent through an email. Your audience is here to soak up your goodness, so don’t be stingy! Give it to them!

One of the most effective ways to do this is to revamp your script. Switch it up and watch the audience cling to your message. You can do this by adding in interactive moments, as previously mentioned. Also, leveraging well-done, touching or energizing video(s) can add variety to your lineup. Engage the audience or captivate them with an onstage personality that represents your organization’s voice.

Colors, Lighting and Movement

For a banquet event of over 1,700 people it’s important everyone feels as though they have a front row seat. As you can imagine, that strategy requires video screens that can be seen no matter your seating placement in the room to captivate the audience. On the other extreme, flashy isn’t always better, either. What you’re really going for is captivating and engaging your audience – so work towards using colors, lighting and movement effectively.

What we ended up using worked wonderfully! We had a set-up of 4 screens, with backlighting across the entire backline wall of the stage that changed colors to help evoke emotion and interest, depending on what was happening on stage. This kept our audience’s attention, which providing purpose to each movement.

]]>5 Minutes to Boost Your Guest Experiencehttp://eventdesign.expert/5-minutes-to-boost-guest-experience/
Tue, 22 Mar 2016 10:29:16 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=1274 By Trace Kingham Yesterday, I was talking to group of planners at the University of South Florida, and we touched on the topic of inconsistent attendance from year to year. Many of us have been there—one year you have 500 guests and the next you have 300 RSVPs. How do you retain and gain guests? We have a simple, […]

Yesterday, I was talking to group of planners at the University of South Florida, and we touched on the topic of inconsistent attendance from year to year. Many of us have been there—one year you have 500 guests and the next you have 300 RSVPs. How do you retain and gain guests? We have a simple, 5-minute mental process for you that will boost your guest experience and have them returning – with their friends and colleagues!

The Inconsistent RSVP Challenge

One of the guests brought up a challenge that she has been facing when planning her events. Particularly, she doesn’t have consistency in attendance from year to hear. One year it’s 700, and the next year it’s 150. So when she’s planning for 700 and she only has 150 RSVPs, it’s a challenge to reduce her expenditures to adjust for that drastic change in attendance. So then we talked about identifying what is at the core of your guests? Keep in mind that human factor –that purpose. It’s important to remember that your guests are taking time out of their busy schedules—away from their time, their family, and their hobbies— to attend your event. So what excites them to attend your event? To answer, think about what your guests like and what they dislike. What motivates them? What problems are they facing in their lives? If you can solve just a little bit of that and also bring a fantastic time through your event, guests will flock.

First Thing’s First – Why should they come?

When you plan an event, you need to have an overall purpose for your event. Figure out what action you want your guest to DO. What is it that you want them to leave with? When you understand your purpose and you have identified your audience, you need to think about what will resonate within them.

Don’t think about your guests as just a number.

“I’ve got 150 plates and 150 meals to order. We’ll need 150 chairs…” As planners we can get caught up in the checkbox and we forget in the human factor. It’s easy to forget that these individuals are taking time to attend your event, so it needs to be worth their while. It needs to give a purpose to them, challenge them and excite them.

Along your planning process – from invitation, concepts, decor, food—take a moment and think about the human side of your guest. Think about them as individuals; put yourself in their place, and it will automatically come. You’ll automatically start planning things differently, because you’re thinking about the personal side of your guest.

The 5-Minute Experience Booster

I’ve done it! It’s easy to get caught up in details and forget about the people part. But when you can keep the personal connection perspective, your guests will not only come, but they’ll leave craving more of you. Don’t forget about the people: their wants, their feelings, their needs. Get and stay in tune with their perspective and see how your event planning process transforms.

Ask yourself

Who your guests are as induvial?

What do they need?

How you can solve a challenge for them through your event?

When you spend 5 minutes at the beginning of your event planning process to take on the perspective of your guests, you’ll automatically start planning an experience that guests will love, and want to come back for more next year!

]]>The First Step to Increasing your Event ROIhttp://eventdesign.expert/the-first-step-to-increasing-your-event-roi/
Tue, 08 Mar 2016 10:54:35 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=1254Before you even start to plan your event –there is one trick you need that will help you to maximize your return on investment. Do this, and every detail you plan thereafter will have a greater impact on your target audience. You must think like a guest. To help you develop the experience, put yourself in your guests’ shoes – […]

Before you even start to plan your event –there is one trick you need that will help you to maximize your return on investment. Do this, and every detail you plan thereafter will have a greater impact on your target audience.

You must think like a guest.

To help you develop the experience, put yourself in your guests’ shoes – or high heels for an elegant occasion. Make sure that you are designing an event that reflects your brand mission.

Imagine you are them.

To best connect with your guests, imagine you are them. What does a day in the life of your ideal audience look like? What media or entertainment do they consume? What makes them tick? Get in their mindset and then –and only then—can you begin to plan effectively.

Now that you’re in the right frame of mind, it’s time to remember the golden rule. What would YOU like to experience if you were them? Here’s some questions to get your creative juices flowing:

Do you and your guests think alike? If not, how do they think?

Do you offer alternatives that they can’t find than other places in the market?

Or, do you offer them things that will interest them and give them information that will improve their lifestyle?

Once you discover what will entice your guests, you can start the planning process: Attract, Arrive, Standout, and Crave.

Focus on Feeling

What feeling do you want your guests to have? After all, this isn’t just a dinner, lunch or cocktail. This is an experience.

Defining how you want your guests to feel will affect how you construct your event elements:

Attract: What feeling does your invitation give? Is creative or cookie-cutter?

Arrive: What does the atmosphere make them feel? Is the high energy music exciting them or does the greeting team make them feel welcomed?

Standout: What will your guests remember about your event in 3 years?

Crave: When they leave, are you giving them a reason to crave more of you?

Engage, Engage, Engage!

People have more connection with brands that they can experience hands-on, rather than observe. If you could have one call to action for your guests, what would it be? Seriously, think about it. Do you have it? GREAT! Now incorporate that call to action in an interactive activity at your event.

For example, if you have a lingerie company and you are launching your new spring line, have an activity that requires your guests to touch the new materials and fabrics. Now your audience isn’t watching from a far, but engaging with you and your brand.

Think like a guest throughout every aspect of the Event Discovery Process, and watch your ROI rise. As you connect with your audience, you transform your event guests into mission partners.

]]>Turning Guests into Mission Partnershttp://eventdesign.expert/turning-guests-into-mission-partners/
Tue, 01 Mar 2016 10:07:38 +0000http://eventdesign.expert/?p=1207By Cylie Svartoien, with excerpts from Standout by Trace Kingham For years, the typical event experience resembled a night at the theater: guests arrive only to sit down and turn their attention to the stage. If it’s a typical event, the show might feature a speaker and possibly even a video. Now, the audience wants to be heard, too. With […]

For years, the typical event experience resembled a night at the theater: guests arrive only to sit down and turn their attention to the stage. If it’s a typical event, the show might feature a speaker and possibly even a video. Now, the audience wants to be heard, too. With all of the advances in event technology, there is no excuse for not including your guests in the conversation.

Guests are no longer satisfied with watching an event-they want to experience it. People are looking to be involved in the event, switching the stage to the guests and giving them a voice. So how are you engaging your guests?

In his book Standout, Trace describes an event with the American Red Cross where the audience stood up to put together over 500 safety preparedness kits. Volunteers flooded the event to distribute kit supplies to each table. The kits were assembled, labeled and stacked on the stage in less than 6 minutes:

“Laughter, giggles, partnerships all unfolded before our eyes. Each table came up with different ways to organize themselves and get the kits built in a timely manner.”

Not only did the activity pull the guests into the cause, but it created an overwhelming feeling of volunteerism in the room. Guests were proud to be a hands-on part of the mission and left the event as more than a guest, but as an active volunteer.